Program Overview

Eligible participants must be at junior or senior level with a 3.0 GPA preferred.

Founded in 1885 by Methodist missionaries, Yonsei University is a private comprehensive university of 40,000 students and is ranked among the top institutions in Korea. In Seoul, the metropolitan capital of South Korea, students can experience all facets of Korean culture, history and society by visiting museums, palaces, temples, libraries, theaters and art galleries.

Yonsei offers more than 1,000 undergraduate courses taught in English each term, as well as intensive Korean language study through the Korean Language Institute. The range of courses taught in English include East Asian studies, business, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, international relations and Korean studies. Courses taught in Korean through other departments are also available for students with Korean language fluency.

The campus provides a full complement of services and facilities for students, including an international residence hall. In addition, Yonsei offers field trips and special classes in traditional dance, taekwondo, music, calligraphy, ceramics and other cultural traditions.

Academics

Students are required to complete GLS 277 in the spring term prior to studying abroad.

Students earn 12-18 credits per term studying at Yonsei University, depending on courses selected and length of stay. All grades earned abroad affect students North Central College GPA when transferred back. Students cannot take courses pass/fail.

Students who study abroad at Yonsei University are not required to take Korean language courses, however, it is recommended and those students who have taken Korean enjoyed it. Of those students who take Korean language courses at Yonsei, most of them start at the 100 level. Korean language courses are five days a week, two hours a day, with approximately 10-15 students in each class.

Note: Students must have courses pre-approved by North Central College prior to taking them abroad. If students change their course schedules while abroad, they must get this change approved. Some departments only permit students to take a certain number of courses that count toward their major abroad; by getting all courses pre-approved, this ensures that these courses will count towards their degrees.

Housing and Meals

Students live in local apartments or on campus in an international residence hall. Although students have an option as to which hall they would like to live in, NCC students who studied at Yonsei in the past recommend that students live in the SK Global House (residence hall). Students live in a double room, but can choose to live in a single for an additional cost. Male and female floors in the SK Global House are separate. There is a convenience store, restaurants, and nail salon in the accommodation building, and the building is connected to the building in which students take their classes. The SK Global House and academic building is 15-20 minutes from Yonsei's main campus.

Meals: meals are not included in the program fees. Students prepare their own meals in a shared kitchen with other international students

Estimated Costs

Students pay North Central College tuition and room and board to the host institution. A $30 non-refundable application fee is due at the time of application submission. Students are personally responsible for paying airfare, health insurance, departure tax, books, extra personal travel and spending money, as these items are not included in room and board fees. North Central College financial aid does apply.